2000
#7,985
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,840
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.42
Rare Last name
Caruthers
A Scottish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "fort of Rydderch" in Old Welsh.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,332 Americans carry the last name Caruthers. That puts it at #8,395 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 79,122 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Caruthers surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Caruthers with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.3K
1 in 79,122
Census rank
#8,395
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,778 bearers of the surname Caruthers in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8395th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Caruthers, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Caruthers
The surname Caruthers is of Scottish origin, arising in the 13th century from the lands of Caruthers in Annandale, Dumfriesshire. The name is derived from the Gaelic 'Cathair Ualrich', meaning 'the fort of Ualrich', an ancient Gaelic personal name.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name is found in the ancient Scottish charters relating to the lands of Caruthers. In 1292, a Willelmus de Carutheris is mentioned as holding these lands. Another early record is of a Nicol de Carrutheris in 1296.
The Caruthers family played an important role in the turbulent history of the Scottish Borders. They were staunch supporters of the Bruce family and Robert the Bruce in the Wars of Scottish Independence against England in the early 14th century. Sir William Caruthers was knighted by King Robert I for his bravery in battle.
In the 16th century, the Caruthers were involved in the infamous Border Reivers conflicts, with the family's chief, John Caruthers, being declared a rebel and outlaw by the English Crown in 1569 for his raids across the Border into England.
Notable Caruthers individuals throughout history include Sir William Caruthers (c.1270-1340), a knight and supporter of Robert the Bruce; John Caruthers (c.1520-1590), a Border Reiver chief; Robert Caruthers (1800-1882), a Scottish-Canadian author and educator; and Wallace Caruthers (1827-1899), a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as a Senator.
Another famous bearer of the name was Robert Caruthers (1834-1917), an American lawyer and politician who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1863 to 1865 during the American Civil War. He later became the United States Ambassador to Mexico from 1885 to 1892.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caruthers
Among Census respondents with the surname Caruthers, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Caruthers bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Caruthers surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.2% · 2,424
- Black or African American26.3% · 994
- Two or more races5.4% · 205
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 115
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Caruthers
Caruthers appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#8,353
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,963
+123 bearers (+3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.34
Rank movement Down 368 places
2020
#8,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,778
-185 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 1.26
Rank movement Down 42 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,985 | 3,840 | 1.42 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,353 | 3,963 | 1.34 | +123 bearers (+3.2%) | Down 368 places |
| 2020 | #8,395 | 3,778 | 1.26 | -185 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 42 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Caruthers surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #8,353 | #8,395 | -0.5% |
| Count | 3,963 | 3,778 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.34 | 1.26 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Caruthers bearers went from 3,963 to 3,778 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 42 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,353 to #8,395.
FAQ
Caruthers surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Caruthers?
Name Census estimates that about 4,332 living Americans carry the surname Caruthers. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 79,122 residents.
How common is Caruthers?
Caruthers ranks #8,395 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.26 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,778 people with the surname Caruthers. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,332), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.26 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Caruthers.
Has Caruthers become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Caruthers went from 3,963 recorded bearers to 3,778. That is a decrease of 185 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #8,353 to #8,395.
What does the Census say about the background of Caruthers?
Among Census respondents with the surname Caruthers, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.2%. The next largest groups are Black (26.3%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Caruthers in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.2% (2,424 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Caruthers appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.2%), Black (26.3%), Two or More Races (5.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Caruthers (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Caruthers mean?
A Scottish habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "fort of Rydderch" in Old Welsh. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Caruthers (1.26 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Caruthers?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Caruthers, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.